During the
1980s and 1990s, financial sectors were the Achilles' heel of economic
development in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Since then, these sectors
have grown and deepened, becoming more integrated and competitive, with new
actors, markets, and instruments springing up and financial inclusion
broadening. To crown these achievements, the region's financial systems were
left largely unscathed by the global financial crisis of 2008–09. Now that the
successes of LAC's macrofinancial stability are widely recognized and tested,
it is high time for an in-depth stocktaking of what remains to be done.